Satan and his angels

THE ORIGIN OF THE OPPOSITION
Material excerpted from the Angelology unit of A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2010

The Bible says little about the origin of Satan and his minions, except that angels were originally good, but some sinned.

2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

An angelic fall does not appear in the Bible. (Peter and Jude mention the event but offer few details.) Some think Isaiah 14 refers to Satan's rebellion, but the context of the passage is a "taunt against the king of Babylon" (Isa 14:4).

Isa 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

Others have seen a similar reference in Ezekiel 28, where context again identifies the passage as "a lament concerning the king of Tyre" (v. 12a). The language, however, is quite specific and may allude to a well-known tradition.

Ezek 28: 12b 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

This is not as much information as we might like about the origin of the opposition, but it is apparently what information God thinks we need.

For a pdf see here.